Butterfly
by BurtonFanatic
Summary: Because in the end, all they wanted was to be free.
1. Butterfly

**Disclaimer: Corpse Bride belongs to Tim Burton, not me. Only the altered plot and OCs are mine.**

**Greetings all! This is my first story on ff, but I have been reading many for years and only recently got the time to write one myself. This will be an alternative version of the film, starting from when Victor and Emily return the Land of the Living to...'see Victors parents'. Ahem. VictorXEmily, obviously, and theres probably going to be some VictoriaXOC for those who can't bear to leave her all by her lonesome. Constructive criticism is much appreciated, flames will be ignored, and I advise all the other reviewers to ignore them as well, the sad, sad people who read through stories like this one only to say 'VXE sucks, you (insert profanity of your choice here) really aren't worth replying to.**

**On a lighter note, here is the first chapter!**

* * *

Quietly, she watched the butterfly stumble through the air, somehow remaining graceful and beautiful despite its jerky movemen

Quietly, she watched the butterfly stumble through the air, somehow remaining graceful and beautiful despite its jerky movements.

Emily took a deep breath. She could feel the air whooshing into her lungs, but then it simply drifted back up again, her dead body rejecting it. She didn't mind though. She had learnt long ago that physical appearance and handicaps meant very little in the grand scheme of things.

Despite her bony limbs that could break so easily, despite her empty lungs, her cold flesh, her eye, her bloodless veins, and that goddamn maggot…

For all her jerkiness, she was still beautiful.

She smiled and turned to look at her husband. Victor was calmer than usual, presumably because he was back in his own world. That was one thing that worried her. She hadn't known him long, but she was fond of him. And how could she not be? He had vowed to stay by her side, to set her free from her sorrow. But she couldn't help but notice he seemed a little uneasy around her- because she was a corpse.

Well, he should have thought of that before he asked me to marry him. I'm sure we'll work it out. She thought optimistically, and began dancing.

Emily had always loved to dance. Along with piano and singing, it was one of her favourite hobbies, both when she was alive and now. She had been lucky to have lenient parents, very lucky indeed. For a brief moment she wondered where they were now, if they ever found out what happened to their only daughter. She felt a pang of guilt; she should have listened to them, really. They saw what Barkis had truly been after all along, and her stubbornness and lack of trust in them had got her killed on this very spot. Some daughter she was.

But then, I would have never met Victor. And I'll see them again one day, so I can apologise. She cheered up considerably at this.

So distracted in her thoughts was she, she did not notice a protruding root and tripped over it, her skeletal leg disconnecting from her hip socket with a crack as she did so.

"Pst! I think you dropped something!" said Maggot, leaning out of her ear. She was tempted to roll her eyes, but resisted in case one fell out and he made a sarcy comment about that too. Instead, she decided to give him the silent treatment.

After reattaching her limb, she resumed her wispy movements through the air, turning to face Victor, who looked rather unsure. She smiled at him encouragingly and held her hand, almost brushing it against it his face, before teasingly snatching it away and continuing her dance.

She felt his hands on her shoulders. For a moment she thought he had plucked up the courage to dance with her, but instead he sat her down on a stump. She tried to hide her disappointment.

"I think I should… prepare… Mother and Father for the big news," he told her, scratching his neck anxiously, "I'll go ahead and you… wait here." Well, that makes sense, she thought. They are going to be quite surprised when they find out Victors married a corpse!

"Perfect!" she responded cheerfully.

I won't be long," Victor reassured her. "Stay right here. I'll be right back," he said, starting to leave.

"Okay," she replied, looking around absently. Victor dashed back to her. "No peeking," he ordered her gently.

She covered her mouth, giggling. Then he was gone.

* * *

Victor fled as quickly as he could to the town. His mind was racing, trying to piece everything together. Was this really happening?

Barely three hours ago he was reciting his vows in the woods. And now he was forced into a marriage with a dead woman!

He was surprised he had been so calm about meeting so many deceased, but he supposed it was, really, because it just couldn't be true. This was all some silly dream, and soon he'd wake up and go get married to Victoria. But in his heart, he knew it wasn't so.

Well, if it was a dream, he may as well try and make it have a happy ending.

He would go to Victoria and explain everything, and hope she would understand. Then they would see Pastor Galswels; surely he would know what to do about the dead bride.

Yet as he came to the edge of the village, he stooped. Something was wrong. The town was so silent.

Victor felt confused. The town was almost always silent, so what was the problem? Always as silent as the grave…

And that's when he realised. The town that he briefly visited in the Land of the Dead was, ironically, far more lively than the one in the Land of the Living.

Victor was shocked, but he had to admit, apart from the whole 'everyone is a corpse!' thing, the place was actually rather…fun. The word sounded strange to him, new.

He wasn't acquainted to fun. Growing up under the reign of Her Royal Highness Queen Victoria (he tried to ignore the fact that she shared his betrothed's name) was not easy. People respected her, and sympathised for her grief after the loss of her husband, but that didn't mean they had to copy her and make everyone else permanently miserable too. Victor briefly wondered if Albert was to be found in the Land of the Dead, too.

And Emily…he sympathised with her fate, he really did, but he was supposed to be marrying Victoria! She shouldn't just forcibly marry the first man she saw!

_Like you're being forcibly married to Victoria?_ Whispered a small voice next to his ear. He jumped in surprise and yelled; that wasn't in his head, they was someone behind him!

He turned around, but there was no one there. Confused, he heard a laugh, again by his ear.

"_Try looking on you shoulder!" _the voice said. He did so, and was promptly greeted by the sight of a green but grinning maggot.

He swallowed nervously. Another aspect of the Land of the Dead- some of the animals seemed as intelligent as the people. He vaguely remembered this maggot as being the one that had briefly emerged from Emily's eye socket. Had it somehow escaped her and followed him?

"_I got suspicious and followed you, yes. And a good thing too, if you were going to abandon her like that!_" Victor's eyes widened in surprise.

"Y-you know what I'm thinking?" He stuttered.

"_Only when I am very close to you, like I am now. Plus, your thoughts are a lot noisier than Emily's._" Maggot paused, and looked at him with a surprisingly serious face. "_Give her a chance, Victor. You are being forced to marry someone you do not know or love whichever path you choose. What does Victoria have to offer you that Emily doesn't?_"

Victor was about to retort angrily. It was absurd! Being reprimanded by a Maggot! But then…he had a point.

Of the two women, he had known Emily the longest. 'Longest' here meaning about an hour or so. He had spent more actual time (three hours) with Victoria, but most of it had been the rehearsal, and so he knew next to nothing about her. Well, he knew that her parents were money grabbing, pompous, annoying and strict, and that she didn't play the piano. That was about it, and it wasn't looking too good.

Confused and upset, he sat down on a small tree stump near to the village gates. He didn't notice as Maggot slide off his shoulder and made his sluggish path back to Emily, too lost in thought to pay attention to anything.


	2. I Don't Love You

**Forgot to add the disclaimer to the first chapter, it's now changed.**

**Here is chapter two!**

* * *

Victor wasn't sure he sat there on the stump, outside the village, but he knew it was cold. Winter had already begun, and it wouldn't be long before the village was smothered with snow, like icing on an otherwise bland cake. He felt a hand touch his shoulder, but it brought no warmth; it was freezing.

As cold as Death.

Knowing who was behind him, Victor didn't move for a while. No words came to mind on how to explain himself without upsetting Emily. She sat down next to him, her zombified hand still on his shoulder, looking at him with concern.

"Darling," she said softly. "What's wrong?"

Victor swallowed. "This…this is wrong!" She jerked, startled, but only tightened her grip on him. "Don't get me wrong Emily, you're a lovely person, but I don't even know you! And you don't know me, either! And now I'm suddenly supposed to love you within an hour of meeting you?"

His words stung, and Emily felt her eyes water. She had been dead for three years, but it still amazed her how her deceased body retained most of its functions. "Well, you should have thought of that when you randomly asked me to marry you!" Victor sighed and held his head in his hands, and just for a moment, Emily felt her still heart breaking.

"Emily," he said quietly. "I wasn't asking you to marry me. I was practising my vows because tomorrow evening- well, today now- I'm supposed to be marrying someone else."

That did it for Emily. So he didn't really love her at all. And as much as she tried to herself that it wasn't fair, that she loved him, she knew that really she was in love with the _idea_ of him.

So she cried.

Tears streaked her face in torrents, as she whimpered softly. Somehow, that was even worse than wailing loudly. Suddenly, she felt Victor's hand on the side of her face. She looked up at him blearily in confusion. He smiled and wiped some tears away with his thumb.

"The thing is, though." He stated soothingly. "I don't love _her_, either."

"Huh?"

"It was an arranged managed between both our parents, so that each could prosper from the money it would bring them. I only met her this afternoon and I've barely spoken to her."

Emily sniffed and started to feel a tiny twinge of guilt. Who was she to start demanding Victor to be the perfect husband? He must be nearly insane with the pressure of being forced into _two_ marriages, both of which with woman he had never met.

And they hadn't even started on the fact that she was dead.

"What…" she gulped and tried again. "What are you going to do?"

"I want to get to know you." Well, that hadn't been the answer she was expecting.

"Huh?" she repeated. God, she sounded like an idiot.

"Maybe we can make this work. Maybe we can't. Lets go back downstairs, and we can talk. We're not going to talk about marriage or we feel about each other, we going to talk about ourselves. What we like, what we don't. I don't love you, Emily…" She trembled a little again. "But I do want to be your friend."

Relief flooded her. That was far better than she could have hoped for. The Land of the Dead was lively, but she had few friends- more like regular corpses to party with. Things were so hectic; people didn't often stop to talk properly.

She managed a weak smile and reached for his hand, whispering lightly.

"Hopscotch." Smoke billowed around them in a flurry, and then they were gone, leaving only an open mouthed town crier watching from behind a tree.

* * *

Emily and Victor reappeared in Elder Gutnecht's study in a whoosh of smoke. Emily reluctantly let go of his hand. They heard a faint snoring; the Elder had fallen asleep.

Giggling slightly, Emily nudged Victor in the ribs. He turned to see what she thought was funny, and laughed out loud.

Elder Gutnecht was cuddling the raven while he slept while nibbling slightly on his bony thumb.

"Looks like someone else might me having a wedding soon." She said dryly.

Chuckling, Victor followed as Emily led him out into the street. Many people passed, most of them blue-skinned with various injuries, but some were completely skeletal. Intrigued, Victor turned to Emily.

"How come some of you are complete skeletons? They can't have died like that, or do you…you know…rot?" he asked timidly. He hoped she wasn't offended.

To his surprise, she just laughed. "The state of bodies is determined by our state of mind down here. If we're upset or depressed or anything negative, we rot. Otherwise you stay as you are." She held up her bony arm to demonstrate. "Naturally I was kind of unhappy when I was murdered, but it stopped when I came to terms with it.

"Wow. Some of these guys must have been really depressed."

"No, most of them just then go along with the rotting just to see what its like. That's why most of the skeletons you meet are the outgoing, lively ones like Bonejangles."

"And Elder Gutnecht? Not exactly a partier."

Emily laughed again. "You'd be surprised, Victor, you really would."

Trying to get the idea of a dancing Gutnecht out of his head, Victor walked with Emily to her house, talking. Just talking. Not about silly marriages or confusing feelings, just…life. Or, afterlife in this case.

Victor couldn't help but feel _right _around Emily. In the village, he had always been nervous when talking to people, especially women. And whenever he found the courage to make contact, they just laughed at him, the ridiculous fish merchant's son. When he was first told Victoria and he were to be wed, he nearly fainted.

Emily was different. When she spoke, her confidence just seemed to flow into him and make him less self-conscious. The Land of the Dead in general just felt good; it was macabre yes, but that just seemed to make its people more accepting. They were only so many things Victor could possibly do to embarrass himself when all around him people were constantly being foolish, with limbs falling off here, raucous skeleton parties there, and generally just not having a care in the Underworld. This place was far more alive than anywhere else he'd been to, even if everyone in it was dead.

Soon they came to a small, nondescript house on the corner between what appeared to be _'Skellington Street' _and _'Lachrymose Lane'_. Emily smiled at him briefly, then they opened the door and entered.


End file.
